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← Return to Diet - Eggs or no eggs?
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@carbcounter American breakfast cereals in particular (but Canadian ones too) do tend to be unhealthy from a metabolic perspective, e.g. avoiding type-2 diabetes, which is a major risk on prostate-cancer treatment.
Even without added sugar, they're often processed so much that they still have a Glycemic Index (GI). I've actually heard people in the States talk about eating Cheerios as if they were virtuously consuming a health food, instead of eating something just barely better than the sugary cereals.
Shredded Wheat is OK-ish — the only ingredient whole wheat (good), but it's still heavily processed (less good), and still medium/high GI. If you're worried about blood sugar and diabetes, something like muesli or oatmeal made with whole oats (not "quick oats") will do you just fine as a breakfast cereal (low/medium GI). But be careful of portion size, because muesli is dense, so even though the GI is lower, the Glycemic Load (GL) might not be if you eat a large bowl.
Sweetened yoghurt is simply disgusting. I have no idea why people eat that. The sourness is what makes yoghurt or kefir tasty (but that's a different discussion 🤷).
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@northoftheborder
Well, everyone is listing them as high glycemic index because of the processing, along with corn flakes etc, so you can do better. And OK, I haven't eaten any commercial cereal for many years, and I wouldn't touch Cheerios because I don't touch non-organic oats if I can help it because of glyphosate, and prefer organic grains for all purposes (but seldom can be that picky in restaurants).
If eaten with some berries, nuts, and low-fat milk, and after some protein (yes, even an egg or two), I wouldn't think a single serving of plain Cheerios would be so awful - but I'd want to see, there is also this "resistant starch" phenomenon and a lot of packaged products end up accidentally doing this good thing, which apparently does not show on most GI listings. The fancier sweetened Cheerios with eleven artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, forget about them.
I see even fruit juices are listed with more moderate GI numbers and that's crazy talk, that stuff goes to your blood glucose in seconds - which is good news if you're having a hypoglycemic episode but not otherwise. Maybe I need a deep dive into what's going on with GI ratings overall.
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@northoftheborder the ons to really watch are flavoured 0% yoghurts. To make up for the mouthfeel lost with the fat, manufacturers often add:
Sugar or sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, stevia) some of which may be carcinogenic
Thickeners and stabilisers — modified starch, pectin, gelatin, guar gum, carrageenan
Fruit purée or "fruit preparation" (often more sugar than fruit)
Milk protein concentrate or skimmed milk powder for body
Flavourings and sometimes colourings (often the ones in the US have been banned for decades in Europe).